Help me choose a new browser!

Help me
Netscape?

Oh, I didn't think of that. . . have you used any of the new versions?

I use Opera. It is quick - and it remembers windows you have open from session to session. It will open new windows quietly in the background. It accepts cookies and such. I like it a lot.

It can cope with huge numbers of windows open - though after a while you cannot see what they are, as it loses the writing!

But - it is "buggy" as Craven would say - it is subject to fits of the hissies - sometimes closing itself down for "illegal activities".

I downloaded java with it - and it did odd things to my system, so I uninstalled the java, and things are good.

I do not let it set itself as my default browser, since it is very pushy, and this complicates surfing from emails etc.

I have seen Craven saying that most sites are set up for IE, so it can be less smooth with some sites - eg, earlier versions could not get into Abuzz.

If you choose it - and you can download and trial for free at www.opera.com - ( I mean, there is a free version - with ads - which is what I use) - I would not bother with opera mail or any such - it is HUGELY aggressive in trying to get you to buy the service, and that is VERY annoying!

I have IE. It is occasionally irritating, but I think the irritations stem from the fact that I have Windows 98 rather than something more current. It works quite well overall.

I am more than happy with Mozilla.

Help me
Actually, I haven't yet had the courage to install Netscape. I've heard good things about the latest edition - that it has settled down into a more reliable service than previously, for one - but I can't bring myself to the point of leaving the setup I have now, which is simply MSN (based, of course, on IE. I don't use IE directly). So I can't speak directly to its qualities. I just threw it out as a possibility to investigate.

Am I just lazy - unwilling to go to the trouble of installing Netscape? I'm not sure I want to fiddle with my email address so soon again, so I'd still be tied, directly or indirectly, to IE.

Having asked you if you considered Netscape, now I ask anyone who contributes to this thread whether they have recommendations about it. I know many people greatly dislike having their ISP and browser the same, which makes them shy away from MSN, but so far MSN has done well by me, especially (I'm keeping my fingers crossed here) with handling spam.

Well, you know, I love IE, even though it is a dreaded microsoft product :-) I just can't stand having it not save cookies. . .

Help me
I haven't had any problem with IE and cookies; perhaps because I don't use IE directly? The only problem I have with cookies is that in response to a cry for help, the MSN tech support people gave me a series of four different solutions, one of which involved clearing all my temporary cookies and such. Now I have to redo all the cookies. . .

But that wasn't IE, it was a combination of MSN and me.

I don't have a problem with IE and cookies either...

It's a known issue with Mac OSX 10.2 and IE 5.5 and 6.0 for Mac. . . and Microsoft has stopped updating IE. . . that's when I had to jump ship. . . signing in every time I wanted to do anything was no fun. . .

I almost always use Mozilla and I am happy with it. Some of Mac users seem to prefer Camino which I have not tried.

i've heard good things about camino.
there is a version of firebird for OSX. under linux, it is the best browser, hands down. mozilla and netscape are way too bloated for my taste.

I've heard of firebird. . . nice to get a second opinion :-) (my source will go for anything linux-based)

There won't be new versions of Netscape either, by the way, but the latest version isn't bad.

And yeah I've gotta agree, Mozilla Firebird is a good choice.

As for Opera, not only is it buggy with stability issues, but it drives me nuts with its lack of support for/weird displaying of some very standard code.

IE is still my personal favorite despite its lack of tabbed browsing, but if IE wasn't saving cookies for me I'd definitely switch to Firebird.

Wot does this mean, Monger?

" its lack of support for/weird displaying of some very standard code."

A fair number of sites, even some sites that use widely accepted code standards, display not quite right in Opera, though of course all browsers have their own little quirks.

It isn't usually noticeable to your average user because they think what they're seeing is how it was meant to be, or that it's just shoddy design work, or they don't realize they're missing some effect. Other times sites will display just fine in a particular browser (such as Opera) only because the webmaster spent heaps of hours wracking their brain for a workaround to some perversly stupid browser-specific bug.

For example, Netscape 4.x did obscene things with A2K 2.0 which just didn't make sense. In the end Craven decided to forget about the few people still using that ancient browser, rather than messing up code that was working for just about everyone else.

The fact that everyone is using different browsers, screen resolutions, plugins, OSes and so on means that sometimes web design can be pretty evil work.

Thanks, Mongr.

I must say, my curent version of Opera seems less "evil".......but I do notice the odd conniption.

Thanks a lot, guys. . . it looks like Firebird will be it. . . now I just have to go about doing it. . . switching the bookmarks. . . urgh. . .

Re: Help me choose a new browser!
Firebird automatically imports your IE favorites.